Chris Poyzer, MSW
Founder, Cardinal Point Leadership
Most coaching is built for leaders who want to get better. This is for leaders who are trying to hold it together.
A season at home is bleeding into every meeting. You're hitting your numbers — but you're white-knuckling it to get there. The thing you're dealing with doesn't fit on a performance review, and there's no one in your orbit you can actually talk to about it.
These are crucibles — the moments when life gets loud and leadership gets harder. They don't have to be devastating. They just have to be real.
I coach executives through those seasons. With honesty and the credibility of someone who's actually been there.
"An invaluable sounding board. You will walk away a better leader — and probably a better person as well." — CEO, Global Yachting
Sitting in that sunroom, it hit me. Not as panic, but as clarity: This was not going to be a single goodbye someday down the road. This was going to be a long one. At first, that realization felt cruel. Over time, I realized I had been given something rare: the chance to say goodbye every day, forever.— from Chapter 1, "The Sunroom"
Part memoir, part coaching playbook. The Long Goodbye weaves research-backed leadership frameworks with the rawest moments of my life — a decade of loving someone while losing her, and everything it taught me about presence, trust, resilience, and the conversations we're most afraid to have.
Because the way we lead is shaped by the way we've lived. And our crucibles become our credentials.
My first wife Tania was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease early in our marriage. It was just the two of us. I became her caregiver — managing medications, sleepless nights, the slow losses that don't announce themselves — while showing up to work the next morning like everything was fine.
It wasn't fine. But I kept going. And somewhere in that decade, I learned something about leadership that no certification teaches: that the hardest thing you'll ever manage isn't a P&L or a team — it's yourself, when the ground shifts underneath you and no one knows what you're carrying.
I've spent 25 years in counseling, social work, and executive development — including time as the in-house Executive Coach at MarineMax. I now work exclusively with executives navigating crucibles — the kind of thing you don't bring up at the leadership offsite.
Chris holds an MSW from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a Brain-Based Certified Coach through the NeuroLeadership Institute.
"A unique blend of attributes that set him apart. Insights and guidance that are both pragmatic and transformative." — Regional President
"Insightful and gracious. You will not be disappointed." — SVP, Talent and Team Development
This isn't a leadership program with modules and homework. It's a standing relationship with someone who gets what you're carrying — and can help you think clearly when things get loud.
Everything is confidential. The executives I work with are navigating things they can't talk about at work, and often can't talk about anywhere else. That's the whole point. No one will ever know you called.
Individual Coaching — Regular sessions built around what you're actually navigating. Between sessions, I'm in your back pocket — a quick call, text, or email when something comes up that can't wait. Practical tools for the hard conversations, managing yourself under pressure, and thinking clearly when everything else feels urgent. Pause or cancel anytime. No contracts, no commitments — just the work.
Still Point — Retained Coaching for Executive Teams —
"You run the company. Let me take care of your people."
At any given time, someone in your C-suite is carrying something hard. Divorce. A health scare. A kid in crisis. The stuff that doesn't show up on a P&L but absolutely shows up in how your leaders lead. Still Point is a 12-month retainer that gives your leadership team confidential, on-demand access to a coach who's spent 25 years in the room with people in crisis.
A discovery chat is 20–30 minutes. No pitch. No intake form. Just an honest conversation about what you're carrying and whether this is the right fit.
You don't have to be in crisis to reach out. You just have to be honest about what's happening.
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